One of the more popular shows that hit the airwaves last year was the NBC series “Grimm.” Like ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” it plays off of conventions of fairy tales, only this series has a much darker twist.

The story follows Portland homicide detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) who discovers he’s a “Grimm,” which is an bloodline of monster hunters from ancient times. The purpose of Grimms are to rid the world of – or at least keep at bay – the monsters of the fairy tales. However, he soon learns that things are more complicated when he discovers some monsters just wanting to live peacefully. Nick spends his time secretly trying to dispatch evil monsters while working with kind ones to keep the peace.

Overall, I prefer “Grimm” to “Once Upon a Time” for two main reasons. First, “Grimm” is basically a police procedural with a supernatural twist. “Once Upon a Time” is a bit more convoluted and collapses under its own weight. Also, “Grimm” has much better special effects. Sure, it uses digital manipulation – especially when the monsters shift to and from human form – but they don’t rely on godawful digital sets.

Taken as a police procedural, “Grimm” is decent. It’s not stellar writing, but from episode-to-episode, it kept my interest. By doing this, the shows generally give a full story within each show, with only a hint of a follow-through long-form story. I do like a long-form story, but when it’s not done well, it can be brutal.

Though not as grim (if you’ll pardon the pun) as a show like “Supernatural,” it feels like it’s cut from the same cloth. Now, if we can just get Nick’s character to actually communicate with the people he trusts, the show could be pretty good.

The Blu-ray is the way to go with this series, featuring some solid cinematography that really pops in high definition. Plus, with its visual style, it’s more cinematic than most series. The Blu-ray also comes with a nice selection of bonus features on the fifth disc, including deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, highlight reels, audition tapes, VFX progressions and the featurettes “The World of Grimm” and “Grimm: Making Monsters.” Finally, the Blu-ray utilizes branching technology with the interactive “Grimm Guide” to the creatures in the world of the show.